ASM & Hill Dickinson LLP Workshop a Success!

PR56951

MANCHESTER, England, June 4, /PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

ASM & Hill Dickinson hold a successful first workshop on the new EU guidelines

on state aid for airports and airlines

Route development specialists, Airport Strategy and Marketing (ASM) and

international commercial law firm, Hill Dickinson LLP held their first joint

workshop on understanding the latest EU guidelines on State aid to airports and

airlines 2014, last week in London. The workshop was attended by a number of

airports who were able to explore their own complicated situations with one of

Europe's leading aviation lawyers, Jeremy Robinson, Hill Dickinson LLP.

"Each airport has its own unique financial and competitive situation and we

have been lucky to examine some real case studies and apply them to the

airports that came here today," commented Robinson, continuing: "The 2014

guidelines are very different from the old 2005 guidelines and it is important

that airports get up to speed, furthermore it is important that airports

monitor carefully the backlog of cases currently going through the Commission,

as these will shape the interpretation of the rules in the coming years."

On 20th February 2014, the European Commission issued new guidelines on State

aid to airports and airlines, updating and modernising the rules that had

applied since 2005 particularly in relation to operating aid, investment aid

and start-up aid. Jeremy explained how these guidelines relate to other key

legislation, such as the Airport Charges Directive and general competition law,

as well as how old cases under the 2005 guidelines were decided, and how

similar cases today would fare under the 2014 rules.

Chris Purkiss, Director of Civil Aviation, Gibraltar attended the workshop and

explained: "The new guidelines will become important for many public run

airports like ours and it is important to understand the mindset of the

Commission, their objectives and how they are likely to apply the guidelines to

real life cases. The workshop has been invaluable for us to understand what we

need to do when we go back to the office in relation to the latest EU

Commission Guidelines."

Nigel Mayes from ASM added: "Many airports have not paid enough attention to

the changes in the Commission's approach and the practical implications, for

example, the preparation of airport business plans especially for justifying

investment into new routes.  The aim of this workshop is to highlight the

requirements and provide some ideas for how to build these business cases."

ASM and Hill Dickinson LLP have launched the dates for the next EU Workshop

which is due to take place on 23rd October 2014 in London.  To secure your

place please contact Joanna Newman: Joanna.newman@ubm.com

Notes to Editors

About ASM

Manchester UK-based ASM Ltd was founded in 1995 as the world route development

consultants. http://www.asm-global.com  

ASM was the founding company of Routes which organises world-renowned airline

and airport networking events through its regional and global Route Development

Forums. Each year, there is one global event and one regional event in Asia,

Africa, Europe, the Americas and CIS respectively. http://www.routesonline.com

Routes and ASM were acquired by UBM Aviation Worldwide Ltd in August 2010.  

From 1st August 2012 Routes, ASM and the Airport Cities Conference and

Exhibition become part of the UBM Live division of UBM plc.

UBM Live connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five

continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products,

promote their brands and expand their markets.  Through premiere brands such as

MD&M, CPhI, IFSEC, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show, the Routes

portfolio of events, Airport Cities and many others, UBM Live exhibitions,

conferences, awards programs, publications, websites and training and

certification programs are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies

across more than 20 industry sectors. http://www.ubmlive.com

About UBM plc

UBM plc is a global events-led marketing services and communications company.  

We help businesses do business, bringing the world's buyers and sellers

together at events and online, as well as producing and distributing news and

specialist content.  Our 5,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised

into expert teams which serve commercial and professional communities, helping

them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

For more information, go to http://www.ubm.com; follow us on Twitter at

@UBM_plc to get the latest UBM corporate news; follow @UBM [

http://twitter.com/UBM_plc ] for news from all UBM's businesses; follow @UBM

for a flavour of UBM from selected members of UBM's Twitterati.

About Hill Dickinson

Hill Dickinson LLP is a leading and award-winning international commercial law

firm with more than 1,300 people including 180 partners, with offices in

Liverpool, Manchester, London, Sheffield, Piraeus, Monaco, Singapore and Hong

Kong.

The firm delivers advice and strategic guidance spanning the full legal

spectrum, from non-contentious advisory and transactional work to all forms of

dispute resolution.

Hill Dickinson prides itself on fostering the strongest client relationships

and adding value through innovation. The firm acts as a trusted adviser to

businesses, organisations and individuals within a wide range of specialist

market sectors: including transport and logistics and international trade,

through to retail, insurance, marine, health, education, manufacturing, public

sector and banking and financial services.

Hill Dickinson has been recognised locally, regionally and nationally with

awards for excellence in service delivery. Recent awards include:

Legal Services Team 11+ Partners Award, Claims Innovation Awards 2014

Investors in Diversity Award 2013, National Centre for Diversity   

Dispute Resolution Award, Liverpool Law Society Legal Awards 2013

Commercial Award, Liverpool Law Society Legal Awards 2013

Ultimate Challenge Award, The Prince's Trust Fairbridge Awards 2013

For further information about the firm and its partners please visit

http://www.hilldickinson.com

For the latest legal alerts and for updates on the firm, follow us on twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/hilldickinson

Follow us on twitter:

@ASM_Ltd, @VictoriaRoutes, @NLPROU, @Routesonline, @TheHUBRoutes, @airlineroute

SOURCE: UBM Live ASM Ltd